as in symbol
a device, design, or figure used as an identifying mark
the bald eagle, that universally recognized totem of our country
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of totem
Exhausted young office workers here have unofficially adopted Cry Cry Horse as a totem reflecting their mood at work.
—
Marissa Martinez, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
The vishaps’ consistent ties to water sources, their polished surfaces and their precise placement in harsh alpine zones point to a widespread belief system in which water itself was sacred and required such totems of appreciation.
—New Atlas, 11 Dec. 2025
Among the totems, knickknacks, and ephemera in Will Shortz’s home-cum-museum, and one of his favorite items, is a copy of the 1924 book inscribed by Dick Simon and Max Schuster, sent to its source of inspiration.
—Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
This time, everyone remains on the couch and passes around a doll named Eve as a permission-to-speak totem.
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totem
Marissa Martinez, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
The vishaps’ consistent ties to water sources, their polished surfaces and their precise placement in harsh alpine zones point to a widespread belief system in which water itself was sacred and required such totems of appreciation.
—New Atlas, 11 Dec. 2025
Among the totems, knickknacks, and ephemera in Will Shortz’s home-cum-museum, and one of his favorite items, is a copy of the 1924 book inscribed by Dick Simon and Max Schuster, sent to its source of inspiration.
—Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
This time, everyone remains on the couch and passes around a doll named Eve as a permission-to-speak totem.
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totem
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totem
Noun
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While the attack on the press is underway, the authorities are also reviving old symbols of political repression.—
Nathan Hodge,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
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Quantum technologies have made those challenges and others symbols of a bygone era.—
David Awschalom,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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According to British Vogue, the designer is said to have created the dress as a nod to France, with national flowers and bees — the emblem of Napoleon — embroidered on the skirt.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The Fashion Nova baddie in horizontal sprawl off the Vertigo, for example, is an emblem for those in the know.—
Julissa James,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Theater blogs and Reddit pages have been mulling the sudden appearance this week in the Broadway theater district of two posters bearing a blue star image that resembles the logo used by the Evita London production and on the Evita Instagram page.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
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Before the crowd split into teams, one person from each group donned an orange safety vest emblazoned with the logo of BrightView, the landscaping firm that does trash collection downtown.—
Shun Graves,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Some of those partnerships have seemed like the antithesis of the chic vibe that’s been the film’s hallmark since 2006.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
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And sometimes the music does traffic in the kinds of clichés about middle-American purity of spirit that have long been a hallmark of conservative rhetoric.—
Jack Hamilton,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Totem.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totem. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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